"Sorry I'm late"

A low yet gentle tone called out to Hoshina, as his eyes slowly fluttered open. His body was aching, ears ringing, eyes so heavy and desperate to fall asleep, and head aching like it was getting split apart. Just a second ago, he was about to get slashed by a Daijaku after fighting it for a good 15-20 minutes. Unfortunately, the Defense Forces Third Division headquarters was attacked tonight. And just faith had it- their captain wasn't currently present, so that meant- the vice captain; Hoshina would be in charge.

It would've gone smoothly

If it weren't for the fact that the daijaku was the giant massive type, not the small yet terrible types

They could only pray and wish that their captain would arrive soon. After all- Hoshina wasn't suited for fighting giant Kaijus. He is a swordsman, after all

However who would have thought you'd be the first to help him?

You, the captain of the first division whose headquarters should be hundreds of miles away from the third division, was somehow here

You flashed a smile, yet your eyes said something else. Clearly- you were lamenting over the fact that if you could've arrived earlier- maybe Hoshina wouldn't be this injured. So with gentle hands, you put Hoshina onto the floor- although you laid your jacket on it, so he wouldn't need to lay on the dirty dusty concrete floor

The two of you weren't even particularly close. You were a few years older than Hoshina- you met him years ago, back when he still wasn't an officer. You helped him through when a kaiju attacked him, maybe that's when Hoshina finally took his dream more seriously and desperately thrived to achieve it

To be a defense force officer

A few years later, you two met again. Originally- Hoshina requested to be in your division, but unfortunately, there wasn't any major position vacant. So you sent him to the third division instead. Next thing you knew, Hoshina was already a vice captain in the third division and one of the well known officers, just like you

Sometimes, in meetings or such- you two would occasionally cross paths. A few greetings, smiles, and conversations would always be exchanged. Every time, A slight yearning still in it would be present